Party Planning and More…

By now you should have a general ideal of who is coming to your Holiday Dinner.  Now you need to decide where you are going to set up the everything.  Its a good ideal to plan early where you are going to set up the food, drinks, and the seating arrangements.  The best thing to do is to set up your food and drinks on seperate tables.  I always suggest if possible to set these up in an area of the house that is easy to access and that is easy to clean (some place with out carpet).  Even the best guest can still have an accidental spill.  Did you remember to get cups, plates, napkins, and any other serving items that you will need?

The night before you are going to want to set up your tables and prepare a few things early.  The first thing that you will want to do if your having Turkey and Dressing is to mix up your dressing and then stuff your turkey and get it started cooking or start cooking your Baked Ham.  Its always good to prepare your turkey or ham the night before that way you can have it sliced up and ready for the guest tomorrow.  If you need any  recipes for your  Holiday dinner you can check out http://giftwrapandmore.wordpress.com/ There is recipes for deserts, bread, turkey, ham, and holiday drinks on this blog.

While your turkey or ham is cooking go ahead and start preparing your home made bread.  You will want to cook the bread until it is just lightly browned on the top so that you can heat it up tomorrow to have hot and fresh rolls for your meal.  If you are using brown and serve rolls you can wait until around 20 minutes before your guest start arriving to cook the bread.

 You can go ahead and cook your pies with your turkey or ham if your oven is big enough.  This will decrease the amount of time that you will have to cook in the morning.    Get all of your deserts done to night that you can  and any specialty breads.    Do not cut any fruit or make any fruit salad unless you are using Jello as these will turn dark over night.   You may also want to cook any deviled eggs tonight and set up your deli trays. 

When this is all done go ahead and pre-set your table.  Put the table cloths on and put your center pieces and place additional chairs that are needed.  Next place you plates, cups, silverware and napkins on the tables.

First thing in the morning on the day of your party you will want to start any of your side dishes.  Place all of your deserts  and deli trays on the table about an hour before your expecting any guest.  Remember you will always have those guest that arrive early.  Start your drinks and punch and place these on the table as they are done.  Go ahead and put your ice in a container and place it in the freezer to be removed and placed on the table as your guest start arriving. 

After you have finished your side dishes and placed them on the table start heating up your turkey or ham. It will only take about 20 minutes, then you will want to heat up your bread.  Go ahead and place these on the table as they are done.  Now all you should have left is a few finishing touches and you will be ready to enjoy your holiday meal and your guest.  Holiday meals are easy with a little planning and preperation ahead of time.  This allows you to play host instead of cook during your holiday celebration. 

I hope that you all have a Happy Holiday Season.